Safety thumb protector



April 1962 R. E. NELSON 3,029,440

SAFETY THUMB PROTECTOR Filed Feb. 23, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 17,1962 R. E. NELSON 3,02

SAFETY THUMB PROTECTOR Filed Feb. 25, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UnitedStates Patent 3,029,440 SAFETY THUMB PROTECTOR Rudolph E. Nelson, 410Casa Linda Drive, El Dorado, Ark. Filed Feb. 23, 1961, Ser. No. 91,283 3Claims. (Cl. 2-21) This invention relates to a thumb protector.

An object of the present invention is to provide a thumb protector whichis capable of insuring full protection to the thumb of a wearer when thelatter is engaged in a hazardous occupation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thumb protectorwhich is simple in structure, highly efficient in action, andcommercially feasible.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the open-ended thimble employed in thethumb protector according to the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view through the thimble illustrated in FIGURE1.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the sheet blank of soft cloth material fromwhich the thumb cot employed in the thumb protector of the presentinvention is made.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the thumb cot employed in the thumbprotector according to the present lnvention.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the blank of leather from which the thumbstall employed in the thumb protector of the present invention is made.

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of the thumb cot and thumbstall employed in the thumb protector of the present invention.

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the thumb protector according to thepresent invention.

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the hand of the wearer with the thumbprotector according to the present invention fixedly mounted upon thethumb of the wearer.

Referring to FIGURES 6 to 8, it will be seen that the thumb protector 10of the present invention comprises a thumb cot 20 having a cushion 26 inthe form of a roll positioned so that the roll is forwardly of andextends transversely across and bridges the open front end of the cot,the cushion roll being attached to the front end of the cot. Extendingabout and embracingly engaging the portion of the cot 20 adjacent thefront end thereof is a metal open-ended thimble 30. A thumb stall 40encloses and is aifixed to the cot 20. As shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, aprotective strap 42 extends over the roll cushion 26 and is attached tothe thumb stall 40. Tie means 50 is provided and is carried by the cot20 and stall 40, the tie means serving to secure the thtunb protector tothe hand A of a wearer, as illustrated in FIGURE 8.

The thumb cot 20 is formed from a sheet blank 21, FIGURE 3, the blankbeing fabricated wholly of soft cloth material like flannel. The blankhas opposed end edges 22 and a side edge 23 extending between each ofthe complemental ends of the end edges 22. The blank is provided with atear line 24 which extends from one to the other of the side edges 23and is parallel to and adjacent to one of the end edges 22. It will beobserved from FIGURE 3 that the portion of each of the side edges 23between the tear line 24 and the other of the end edges 22 flaresoutwardly to a mid-point 25. It is to be noted that there is a hole 28in the blank at opposite ends of the other end edges 22 adjacent themerger point with the adjacent side edge 23, and also a hole 29 inwardlyof and substantially midway of the tear line itself to form the cushionroll 26.

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24, the purpose of the holes 28 and the hole 29 to be subsequentlydescribed.

To form the cot 20 from the thus described sheet blank the part definedby the tear line 24, the one end edge 22, and the adjacent portions ofthe side edges 23, is severed from the blank 21 by shearing along thetear line 24. The thus severed part of the blank is then rolled uponNext, the remainder of the blank 21 is bent back upon itself so that theside edges 23 between the severed tear line 24 and the point 25partially overlap, and these overlapped side edges are then sewedtogether. This results in the formation of the cot 20 having a frontopen end 27. The previously formed cushion roll 26 is then positionedforwardly of the front end 27 of the cot 20 so that it extendstransversely across and bridges the front end 27, whereupon it isattached to the front end 27 as by sewing.

The metal open-ended thimble 30 which is employed in the thumb protectorit of the present invention has one end 31, FIGURES 1 and 2, which isflared, and has the other end 32 which is not flared, and in addition,

. is provided with a hole 33, the purpose of which will be subsequentlydescribed. The thimble 32 is applied to the cot 20 by inserting theflared end 31 over the cushion roll 26 and sliding the thimble along thecot until the other end 32 is free of the cushion roll 26 and contiguousto the front open end 27 of the cot, and the hole 33 of the thimble 30is in registry with the hole 29 of the cot 20.

The thumb stall 40 is formed from a sheet blank 41, FIGURE 5, the blankbeing fabricated of leather, preferably of leather for boots. The blank41 has opposed end edges 43 and a side edge 44 extending between each ofthe complemental ends of the end edges 43. The blank 41 is provided witha tear line 45 which extends from one to the other of the side edges 44and is parallel to and adjacent to one of the end edges 43. It will beobserved from FIGURE 5 that the portion of each of the side edges 44between the tear line 45 and the other of the end edges 43 flaresoutwardly to a midpoint 48. It is to be noted that there is a hole 46 inthe blank 41 at opposite ends of the other end edge 43, and also a hole47, inwardly of and substantially midway of the tear line 45, thepurpose of the hole 46 and the hole 47 being subsequently described. Toform the stall 40 from the thus described sheet blank 41 the partdefined by the tear line 45, the one end edge 43, and the adjacentportions of the side edges 44 is severed from the blank by shearingalong the tear line 45, and this severed part forms a protective strap42. Next, the remainder of the blank 41 is bent back upon itself so thatthe side edges between the severed tear line 45 and the point 48partially overlap, and these overlapped side edges 44 are then sewedtogether. This results in the formation of the stall 40, as shown inFIGURE 6. Upon completion of the stall 40 an end portion of the strap 42is fixedly attached as by sewing to the underneath portion of the stall40 adjacent the forward end 49.

To assemble the thumb cot 20 carrying the cushion roll 26 on the frontend 27 and the thimble 30 mounted thereon and the thumb stall 40 therear end of the stall 40 is inserted over the front end 27 of the cot 20and the stall slid backwardly along the cot 20 until the hole 47 is inregistry with the registered holes 29 and 33 of the cot 20 and thimble30, respectively, and the pair of holes 46 of the stall 40 are inregistry with the pair of holes 28 of the cot 20. A rivet is thenextended through the registered holes 47, 33, and 29, of the stall 40,the thimble 30 and cot 20, respectively, and thereby secures the stall40 to the cot 20. It is to be noted that the inner end of the rivet 32is bradded, and the contour line of the thumb of the wearer prevents thebradded end of the rivet from contacting or touching the thumb at anytime. The other end of the strap 42 is then attached to the front end ofthe stall 40 as by stitching. The tie means 50 which is in the form of acord has the intermediate portion trained about the exterior surface ofthe stall 40 and has its end portion threaded through the registeringpairs of holes 46 and 28 in the stall 40 and cot 20, respectively.

The flared end 31 of the thimble 30 and the cushion roll 26 prevent thethimble 30 from slipping, and also, protects the end of the thumb of thewearer when the wearer is engaged in the task of opening and hanging bagon a bag-packing machine.

What I claim is:

1. A thumb protector comprising a thumb cot fabricated wholly of softcloth material and having an open front end, a cushion in the form of aroll of soft cloth material positioned so that the roll is forwardly ofand extends transversely across and bridges the open front end of saidcot and attached to the front end of said cot, a metal open-endedthimble extending about and embracingly engaging the portion of said cotadjacent the front end thereof, and a leather thumb stall enclosing andaflixed to said cot.

2. A thumb protector comprising a thumb cot fabricated wholly of softcloth material and having an open front end, a cushion in the form of aroll of soft cloth material positioned so that the roll is forwardly ofand extends transversely across and bridges the open front end of saidcot and attached to the front end of said cot, a metal open-endedthimble extending about and embracingly engaging the portion of said cotadjacent the front end thereof, a leather thumb stall enclosing andaffixed to said cot, and a protective leather strap extending over saidroll cushion and attached to said stall.

3. A thumb protector comprising a thumb cot fabricated wholly of softcloth material and having an open front end, a cushion in the form of aroll of soft cloth material positioned so that the roll is forwardly ofand extends transversely across and bridges the open front end of saidcot and attached to the front end of said cot, a metal open-endedthimble extending about and embracingly engaging the portion of said cotadjacent the front end thereof, a leather thumb stall enclosing andafiixed to said cot, a protective leather strap extending over said rollcushion and attached to said stall, and tie means carried by said cotand stall for securing said thumb protector to the hand of a wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS298,389 Kealen May 13, 1884 835,980 Paroubek Nov. 13, 1906 1,736,344Hisek Nov. 19, 1929 2,437,886 Millard et a1 Mar. 16, 1948 2,827,635Rasmus Mar. 25, 1958

